Official: Winning lottery ticket sold in Maryland

In the hopes of striking it rich, people across the country are scooping up Mega Millions tickets. NBC's Kevin Tibbles reports.

By msnbc.com staff and news services

Updated at 1:56 a.m. ET: The Associated Press is reporting that Maryland lottery officials have announced early Saturday their state sold what could become the world's largest lottery payout of all-time, but it was unclear if that ticket holder would get sole possession of the $640 million jackpot.

Carole Everett, director of communications for the Maryland Lottery, told the AP the winning Mega Millions ticket was purchased at a Baltimore County store. She said it's too early to know any other information about the lucky ticket-holder or whether others were sold elsewhere in the nation.

The winning numbers for the Mega Millions prize were 46, 23, 38, 4, 2; mega ball was 23, lottery officials said late Friday.

National lottery officials were expecting to list early Saturday on their website how many winning tickets were sold and from what states, but Maryland sent out its news release and called media organizations hours before the scheduled announcement. The headline of its news release said the winning sale was "one of several nationwide," but Everett told The Associated Press she couldn't immediately confirm any others.

"We're thrilled," Everett told the AP. "We're due and excited."

The estimated jackpot dwarfs the previous $390 million record, which was split in 2007 by two winners who bought tickets in Georgia and New Jersey.

In most participating states, tickets were on sale Friday until 10:45 p.m. EST, lottery officials said. The drawing was held in Atlanta at 11 p.m. EST.

Hopeful future millionaires formed long lines at stores.

Odds of winning the entire jackpot were 175 million to one, said Margaret DeFrancisco, president and chief executive of the Georgia Lottery Corporation.